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Harold Nelson
MBE
	Nelson at the 1950 British Empire Games
Personal information
Birth name	William Harold Nelson
Born	26 April 1923; Dunedin, New Zealand
Died	1 July 2011 (aged 88); Richmond, New Zealand
Height	1.66 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Weight	57 kg (126 lb)
Spouse	Margaret Joyce Calder (m. 1948; died 2006)
Relative(s)	Eliza Anscombe (grandmother); Edmund Anscombe (great-uncle)
Sport
Country	New Zealand
Sport	Track and field
Coached by	Bernie McKernan
Achievements and titles
National finals	1 mile champion (1947); 3 miles champion (1947, 1948); 6 miles champion (1948); Cross country champion (1946, 1951)
Personal best(s)	1 mile – 4:14.8; 3 miles – 14:19.4; 6 miles – 29:57.4
Medal record
Representing New Zealand
Commonwealth Games

William Harold Nelson MBE (26 April 1923 – 1 July 2011) was a New Zealand long-distance runner who won two medals at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland.

Early life and family

Born in Dunedin on 26 April 1923,^[4] Nelson was the son of Grace Ledingham Stewart—daughter of artist Eliza Anscombe—and William Alexander Anthony Nelson.^[5] He was educated at Otago Boys' High School, and was inspired to take up athletics after seeing a film in 1938 about the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin that included New Zealander Jack Lovelock's winning the 1500 m gold medal.^[6] Nelson served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during World War II.^[7]

On 20 March 1948, Nelson married Margaret Joyce Calder, and the couple went on to have four children.^[8]^[9]

Nelson graduated from the University of Otago in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts.^[10]

Athletics

Coached by Bernie McKernan, Nelson first came to national prominence as an athlete when he won the under-19 one-mile title at the New Zealand junior championships in 1941, in a national junior record time of 4:30.0.^[1]^[2]^[6] His athletics career was interrupted by World War II, but during the war he won a number of services athletics events.^[3] Following an accident while serving with the RNZAF, Nelson was invalided home and he feared that he may never run again.^[1] However, after an operation, he was able to resume his running career.^[1]

In 1946, Nelson won the national cross-country championship, and in 1947 he won the New Zealand one-mile and three-mile titles at the national championships in Auckland.^[3] The same year, he captured the one- and three-mile titles at the New South Wales amateur athletics championships at the Sydney Cricket Ground.^[3]

At the New Zealand athletics championships in 1948, Nelson won both the three- and six-mile events.^[2] His time of 29:57.4 over six miles was a New Zealand record, and made him the second-fastest athlete in the world over the distance at that time.^[2]^[3]^[11]

Nelson was subsequently selected as team captain and flagbearer for the New Zealand team at the 1948 Olympic Games in London.^[3] Competing in the 10,000 m, he suffered from dehydration and had to withdraw after 17 laps.^[6] In the heats of the 5000 m, he recorded a time of 15:34.4, finishing sixth and not progressing to the final.^[4]

At the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, Nelson won the gold medal in the 6 miles, in a time of 30:29.6.^[12] He also competed in the 3 miles, winning the silver medal with a time of 14:28.8, behind Englishman Len Eyre.^[12]

Nelson won his final national championship title, the cross country, in 1951.^[2]^[12]

Later life and death

A schoolteacher, Nelson and his family moved to Nelson in 1951, where he taught at Nelson College for 12 years.^[6]^[12] He then taught for six years at Waimea College, where he coached the young Rod Dixon.^[6] Nelson completed his teaching career at Nelson Polytechnic, retiring in 1983.^[6]

Nelson remained active in athletics as a coach and official in the Nelson area.^[12] He organised the athletics at the 1983 South Pacific Games in Apia, and was a track official at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland.^[3] He participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics torch relay when it travelled through Wellington.^[6] He served two terms as president of the New Zealand Amateur Athletics Coaches' Association, and was a various times director of athletics coaching in Western Samoa, the Cook Islands and the Solomon Islands.^[13]

In the 1986 Queen's Birthday Honours, Nelson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to athletics.^[14] In 2006, he was the inaugural inductee into the Nelson Legends of Sport gallery.^[6] He was recognised as New Zealand's oldest living Olympian in 2009.^[15]^[16]

Nelson suffered a stroke in 1988, and in 2006 his wife, Joyce, died.^[6] Nelson died at Richmond on 1 July 2011,^[17] and his ashes were buried with those of his wife at Marsden Valley Cemetery.^[18]

Legacy

Since November 2011, an annual athletics meet at Nelson's Saxton Field has been called the Harold Nelson Classic.^[19] The southern entrance to the Saxton Field athletics track was renamed Harold Nelson Way in 2012.^[20]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Champion runner once invalid". Cootamundra Herald. 2 April 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Hollings, Stephen (December 2016). "National champions 1887–2016" (PDF). Athletics New Zealand. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "W. Harold Nelson MBE". Sport Tasman. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Harry Nelson". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
^ "Grace Ledingham Stewart". Ancestry.com.au. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ De Ruyter, Martin (9 August 2008). "Flame still burns bright". Nelson Mail. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
^ "William Harold Nelson". Online Cenotaph. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
^ Brock, Hayley (21 March 1998). "Silk stockings used to bribe bride-to-be". Nelson Mail. p. 1.
^ Froggatt, Milton (12 October 2000). "Descendants of Jessie Alexander Moir". Genealogy.com. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Mu–O". Shadows of Time. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
^ Kelly, Lindy (21 November 1998). "Running toward the future". Nelson Mail. p. 11.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Harold Nelson". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
^ Moore, Bill (9 July 2011). "A champion runner, coach". Nelson Mail. p. 18.
^ "No. 50553". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 14 June 1986. p. 32.
^ "Olympics: nine Olympians still 'missing'". New Zealand Herald. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ Martin, Wayne (26 June 2009). "Nelson's Olympians recognised". The Nelson Mail.ProQuest 274571184
^ "Death of region's athletics icon". Nelson Mail. 4 July 2011. p. 4. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
^ "Plot record details". Nelson City Council. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
^ Lautenslager, Greg (23 November 2011). "Athletics showcase at weekend". Nelson Mail. p. 14. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
^ Young, Sarah (1 February 2012). "Driveway tribute to Harold Nelson". Nelson Mail. Retrieved 21 May 2017.